I don’t think there will be much shadow-boxing when Donegal take on Kerry in Sunday’s Division 1 Final.
Some people are saying that the two teams won’t want to give away anything in case they meet again.
But if that does come to pass, it’s likely to be months down the line and there will be a lot of football played by then. The league final will probably be soon forgotten when the championship starts up.
Jack O’Connor has a good record in that every time he wins the league, he’s been able to double it up with Sam Maguire so I’d imagine Kerry will go hard at it.
Likewise, Donegal were much the better team when they faced Kerry in Ballyshannon so I don’t think they will be fearing them even if David Clifford plays this time out.
Donegal concluded their regulation league campaign with a four-point victory over Monaghan.
They conceded some poor goals in the first half before steadying up in the second half.
The talk is that the free count was very low in the first half which indicates that there wasn’t much physical contact or hard tackling.
Shea Malone had a good day out scoring 2-3 and he will want to build on that this week.
Jason McGee is playing the best football of his Donegal career to date and I can’t wait to see how he goes this Sunday.
Michael Langan is probably the most consistent midfielder in the country at the moment and Donegal will need him on form on Sunday.
Any day you get to play in Croke Park is a good day and I’d say the Donegal team have been buzzing this week and they will want to give a good account of themselves.
I do hope we have some of our seasoned players back in the team like Oisin Gallen, Michael Murphy, and Daire Ó Baoill as their experience will be needed.
Gavin White, Diarmuid O’Connor, and Shane Ryan have been missing for Kerry and Paudie Clifford is injured as well so they will be without quality.
However, Kerry always have an abundance of good players and they will have men to fill the void.
I think it’s important that Donegal are able to get a good start to the match.
When you look back on the All-Ireland Final last year, Donegal were always playing catch-up.
If they could get in front, it would ask real questions of Kerry.
As always, David Clifford is going to be hard to contain. Brendan McCole will pick him up but he will need support and players working hard to make sure he’s not getting handy scores.
Seanie O’Shea was excellent in Ballyshannon and Donegal won’t want to give him long-range frees.
For me, it’s going to be a close match but I think Donegal will be really hungry to go out and prove a point and I feel they will edge it.
League Finals
Looking at the other league finals, I think it should be a cracking weekend of action.
Donegal fans who get up early to Headquarters, could see a really good game between Cork and Meath.
These counties had a great rivalry for many years but it faded away.
Now they are coming again and they played out a great game a few weeks ago.
Cork won on that occasion but Meath have played three games at Croke Park already this year and they might just have enough.
Wexford were probably the story of last weekend as they scored a last-gasp goal to win promotion.
They now take on Down in the Division 3 Final.
This is a big game for Down because if they lose, they will be in the Tailteann Cup if they can’t reach the Ulster Final.
The pressure is on but they should have enough to win.
In Division 4, Carlow and Longford have won promotion.
Both sides have mixed the good with the bad at times but Carlow might just come through in Saturday’s final.
Division 1
It was a great final day of drama in all the leagues on Sunday but particularly in Division 1.
It looked at different stages like Dublin would survive and Armagh would go down.
However, it played out the other way.
Dublin will be disappointed but they lost five of their matches and can’t have many complaints.
It will be interesting to see if some of their older players have the heart for a Division 2 campaign next season.
They might be better off playing in Parnell Park and getting the crowd out supporting them once again.
Armagh were excellent against Kerry and they are going to have a big say in the Ulster Championship.
Tyrone lost again at home to Cork and they only have a few weeks to turn things around before they head to the Athletic Grounds to meet Armagh.
Underage teams
At the time of going to print we don’t know how the Donegal Under 20s fared against Monaghan, but they will be out again on Saturday against Antrim.
Donegal won their first game against Fermanagh but it was tighter than a lot of people expected.
Conor McCahill got injured early in that match and now looks set to miss a bit of football with a hamstring injury.
That’s a real blow for the Under 20s as Conor is a real talent who works hard and can score.
There is a bit of hype about this Donegal team because they have six senior players including Finnbarr Roarty.
However, sometimes it can be hard to get the right cohesion.
I would expect that Donegal will improve as the championship goes on.
The minors got their first win last week with a comfortable victory over Armagh.
I know Karl Lacey and the management have been putting in a huge effort with this group and they will be looking to build momentum.
I was delighted to see my own Na Rossa clubmate Logan Melly get on and score a point.
Logan is a very committed young lad and is one of a number of talented forwards in the panel.
All-County Leagues
While a lot of the GAA focus in Donegal will be on the League Final this weekend, it is a big week for club players as the All-County Leagues return.
It will have been a real slog for a lot of teams over the last couple of months.
I can’t remember a year when it has been so wet and that has left a lot of pitches struggling.
I know a lot of clubs have been forced indoors or to the track which is not what players want.
Some teams are fortunate to have an astroturf pitch where they will have got a bit of work done.
Pre-season can be tough going but it’s the thought of the games that keep boys going.
Not all clubs come into the season with the same objectives.
Some will have a lot of training done and will want to start strongly. For others, it’s all about the championship and getting through the early stages of the campaign.
It’s tough for teams with a lot of county players and the teams that don’t have many county players like Dungloe and Termon will be worth keeping an eye on in Division 1.
St Eunan’s have a new manager in Kieran Donnelly and it will be interesting to see how they go.
Four Masters have nine players in the matchday squad for the Under 20s which is a huge representation.
They have a lot of good young players but it’s likely that they will be down a host of regulars for this weekend.
It’s dangerous to read too much into the Gaeltacht but Ardara had a convincing win over Naomh Conaill.
Ardara have had success at minor and under 21 level and they have got a lot of talent coming through.
Damian Devaney has stepped away after five years, with Clint Walsh coming in and they will be chasing promotion in Division 2.
As always plenty of clubs have lost players over the close season. With Donegal’s geographical location, it’s tough on men who are down the country to keep on coming back up the road for matches.
The clocks go forward this weekend and the weather will hopefully improve and it won’t be long before we are in the full swing of things.